After four long months I was finally ready… I had maxed out all of my characters, unlocked every weapon and armor type including all of the exotics, and even “MasterWorked” all of my armor and weapons for maximum effect. I was ready for a new challenge… one that I did not feel I was ready for until now. The challenge of taking a new, fresh Guardian under my wings and guide them from a level 1 noob into an effective member of the fireteam. They will definitely need your prayers…

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We had the discussion about which class would be the best fit for their play style (they went the TOTALLY wrong direction in my opinion, but what do Iknow), ran through the tutorial levels and then… it was time. Time to take on the enemies of freedom across each planet as a cohesive unit… as a fireteam. And as I explained the subtle nuances between weapons, armor items, and how to turn public events into “heroic” events an interesting thing happened… I found myself repeating the things I was previously told by an old Guardian friend of mine who had once blazed this very same path for me in the exact same manner.

I am by no means a great player or even a very good player, as most of my friends will attest. I have EARNED the nickname “Guardian Down” through blood, sweat and… well, mostly just blood I guess. Actually, it was ONLY my blood, if I am being truly honest. But in this scenario, even my limited knowledge and capabilities were still beneficial to the new Guardian that I was guiding through their first play experience. And despite my shortcomings, I was able to inform them of areas where I had previously failed to watch out for as well as opportunities to improve that I wish I had known about on my first go round. I may not have achieved all I need to or become the Guardian I hope to be some day, but I was the Guardian they needed right then.

Guiding while being guided is the true nature of discipleship… as Paul surmised in 2 Cor. 3:18 we are being changed from glory to glory, or in layman’s terms we are moving and growing from one level to another in our Christian walk throughout our span on this planet. If you are waiting to achieve a certain level of “readiness” or perfection prior to being used by the Lord to disciple others you are falling prey to a key attack of the enemy… that of the unworthy servant who must achieve a certain level of “Godliness” before they can do anything for God. It’s a way that we are kept on the sidelines under the pretense of “growing in the Lord” prior to allowing Him to use us to fulfill the great commission. Let’s look at the great commission in detail…

MATTHEW 28:18-20: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.Go thereforeand make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

What we call the “Great Commission” are the final recorded words of Jesus in the book of Matthew. The key area I want to focus on is the combination “make disciples” which is the crux of the dialogue. The Greek word here is mathēteúō which is a derivative of the root word mathétés meaning a disciple, learner, or pupil. Simply put, we are to produce “learners” of the way of Christ wherever we go and to teach and mentor them in the path. Now an interesting thing exists here that I did not include in the first quotation, but I would like to point it out now…

MATTHEW 28-16-17: Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

Hold on… this is the verse RIGHT BEFORE Christ gives the Great Commission. He was speaking to the eleven remaining disciples (scratch one Judas), and not all of them were even fully unified in their beliefs yet. But this does not deter Jesus from proclaiming their mission to them, even in their current state of incompleteness and doubt.

It would be DURING their fulfillment of the Great Commission that they would be refined through the Father’s crucible of development. They were sent to Jerusalem to wait for the Spirit of God to fall on them and give them power to accomplish His mission (Luke 24:49), but once they had received the Holy Spirit they were still not yet fully perfected. Peter and Paul would still have an epic throwdown about the integration of the Gentiles with the Jews. Barnabas and Paul would split paths over the inclusion of John Mark on the missionary journey. But even in their imperfect and growing states they were sent and used to perform the work of the Lord and make disciples/learners of those they met.

This is the true work of the church and of those who follow Christ. Discipleship is an intimate, personal interaction that cannot be accomplished in giant sanctuaries or through intricate sermons. It is a joint walk, shoulder to shoulder, between two members of the faith in which one has already been where the other is headed. Like my example of my new and impressionable Guardian following me through the basic steps of Destiny 2, it is highly likely there will be a day they will surpass me. Just as I hope one day to reach past the one who originally mentored me. But we all disciple each other, one hand reaching up to those ahead of us on the path and the other reaching back to pull someone along behind us. And in this unbreakable chain, this three-fold cord of believers united in purpose, the world can be changed.

We are both disciples and in the process of being discipled throughout our time here. It is not only possible, but NECESSARY to be both simultaneously. Please, please, PLEASE do not let your lack of “full perfection” restrain you from being used by the Lord to fulfill the commission. None of them were perfect either. They were simply Spirit-filled believers in Christ who decided to share the Good News as they had been instructed. The rest is up to God to do the work. And you are the Guardian someone else needs, even if your light level isn’t fully maxed out yet and you are still hunting down that auto rifle that everyone else has three of. You are both discipler AND disciple for the entirety of your journey here, and the Lord has made you qualified for both. Oh look… I just heard “Guardian Down” and it isn’t me this time… maybe I can lend a hand…